There has been an increase in the number of foreigners buying property in Britain, with those from Hong Kong still the largest cohort of foreign buyers.
HM Land Registry figures, obtained by lettings and agents Benham and Reeves, via an FOI request, show that 189,793 properties in England and Wales were owned by foreign buyers in 2024, an increase of 2.6% on last year’s data.
A significant portion of these properties were located in London. In total, Hong Kong residents owned 25,972 homes in the capital – representing 13.7% of all homes owned by foreign buyers. This figure is up from 13.3% in 2023, with the total number of owners in Hong Kong increasing 5.7% year on year. the third largest year-on-year increase of all the different overseas nationals in the top 20.
Singapore homeowners accounted for the second largest share of the market, with 15,635 property titles, representing 8.2% of all homes owned by a foreigner in 2024.
This was followed by buyers from the United States. US citizens owned 12,405 homes throughout England and Wales. This accounts for 6.5% of all foreign owners, and is an increase of 5.5% year on year,
There were also a significant number of homes owned by people from the UAE (5.8% of all foreign-owned titles), with China (5.2%) completing the top five. However, Benham and Reeve note that there has been a significant increase of 12.9% in the total number of homes owned by Chinese nationals year on year – the largest annual increase of any country in the top 20.
The other countries in the top ten are Ireland (4.9%), Australia (4.4%), Kuwait (4.1%) and France (3.6%).
Israel is the only newcomer to the broader top 20 compared to 2023, coming in at number 20 and replacing New Zealand, with a 6.6% increase in total properties in 2024 compared to 2023 – the second largest increase on an annual basis of all countries in the top 20.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “When it comes to foreign buyer activity in the property market, Hong Kongers remain by far the most dominant country and this has largely been the case since the launch of the British Nationals Overseas Visa in 2021.
“In fact, we have seen the overall share of market activity accounted for by Hong Kong residents increase over the past year, demonstrating that demand is not only strong, but getting stronger by the year.
“Of course, there are other factors influencing foreign demand for London bricks, with more buyers from the United States entering the market following Trump’s re-election, while Israel has also entered the top 20 following the intensification of conflict in the United States. States. Gaza.”